In Washington on Saturday Democrats were licking their wounds over failing for a second time to impeach Donald Trump.
But in New York, Republicans are licking their chops.
The recent revelation that Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to disclose the true number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes has top GOP officials in the Empire State calling for Cuomo’s impeachment.
Melissa DeRosa, one of Cuomo’s top aides, admitted that the administration withheld the true fatality numbers from lawmakers and federal authorities, according to a report on Thursday in the New York Post. She also apologized to Democratic lawmakers for that, while not making the same offer to the families of those elderly victims.
New York Republicans, however, believe Cuomo needs to go for misleading the public.
Politico reported that in the wake of the Post’s story, “Nearly every top Republican in the state pounced on the Post’s report, subjecting Cuomo to a barrage of criticism arguably unparalleled at any point during his decade in office.”
Some examples from Politico:
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, who ran against Cuomo in 2018, “For over six months, day after day, in briefing after briefing, Governor Cuomo stood before New Yorkers and lied about his directive that contributed to the deaths of thousands of seniors. In the coming days, he will cynically try to convince us that it was for our own good — that it was someone else’s fault. This is another lie. What is true, is Andrew Cuomo has proved himself unworthy of our trust, and unfit for public office.”
New York state Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy said, “Prosecution and impeachment discussions must begin right away.”
State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt added, “If the Governor is involved, he should be immediately removed from office.”
GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Reed demanded that Congress conduct “an independent and thorough investigation by the Biden Department of Justice into Governor Cuomo and New York State.”
The Hill found a few more:
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik said, “Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor (DeRosa), and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately — both by the Attorney General of New York State and the U.S. Department of Justice.”
“This bombshell admission of a coverup and the remarks by the Secretary to the Governor indicating intent to obstruct any federal investigation is a stunning and criminal abuse of power,” Stefanik added. “The families who lost loved ones, New Yorkers, and all Americans deserve accountability from the U.S. Department of Justice that will be independent and not swayed by the desperate political pressure from Governor Cuomo.”
U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino also pushed for a “full investigation” by the Justice Department into Cuomo. “Gov. Cuomo not only recklessly put New York seniors in harms’ way, he and his Administration admittedly hid the facts from the Department of Justice,” Garbarino said in a statement. “This, along with the refusal to respect the several Freedom of Information Law requests, turned a misjudgment in policy into what very well may be one of the largest criminal cover-ups in New York’s history.”
A local news station in Albany quoted GOP state Sen. Jim Tedisco, who said, “This obstruction of justice must be investigated on the federal and state levels and my colleagues in the majority should finally use their subpoena power to get the truth under oath. … If this information that’s been reported is accurate, then Governor Cuomo has totally lost the trust of the people he represents and has violated his oath of office. He should then resign or face impeachment and removal from office.”
Republican Assemblyman Chris Tague noted, “This report directly confirms what many of us had feared for months, that the Governor has been trying to hide what are now over 13,000 nursing home deaths from the public eye for the sake of protecting his political reputation and celebrity.”
Tague added, “The Governor has put politics over human lives, and at this point discussions of prosecution and impeachment must begin immediately. If the governor lied about something this serious, we can only imagine what else he’s hidden from us during his career. With all of the talk of unity in our country’s political discourse, this is a moment for all of us in government to put aside our partisanship and stand up for the thousands of families who will never see their loved ones again.”
Trump got impeached for lying about an election that allegedly inspired a riot that led to five deaths.
What price should Cuomo pay for lies that killed thousands?